On Wednesday evening, Sonic received its first Gold Pyramid Award at the PPAI Expo in Las Vegas. Debbie Bostin and Seth Weiner's direct mail campaign with Columbia Books won top place in the category of Political and Legislative Program.

Read on to learn more about the project.



In 2008, Columbia Books acquired the US Congress Handbook (first published in 1974). The handbook is known as the go-to-guide for information on members of Congress, and it is often used as a tool for legislative advocates and a gift for political donors. The book can also be customized with a branded cover and custom page inserts.

In October, Columbia Books contacted Sonic for assistance with a direct mail campaign to grow sales of their custom handbooks. Facing competition from a nearly identical product, Columbia Books needed a creative solution that would highlight their handbook's superior features and get it directly into the hands of key decision makers.

The selection of items for this mail campaign was actually inspired by a past Sonic promotion. Two years ago, Sonic sent out reusable coffee mugs, water cups and personalized notes to top clients, Columbia Books included. Columbia Books was so thrilled with the gift that they chose to use the exact same items for the US Congress Handbook promotion. 

75 boxes were sent out, each containing a set of drinkware, a sample handbook, a tailored letter signed by the sales rep, and red, white and blue paper filler. One week after the mailing, Columbia Books' sales reps conducted follow-up calls to secure meetings, close potential clients and renew existing clients.

So, was the promotion a success?

You bet! Columbia Books closed 28 new clients and achieved a renewal rate of 80% from existing clients. Of new clients, eight specifically attributed the gift as the most important factor to their order. Columbia Books was so pleased with the program that they entered the project for an industry award and won.

Hi guys!
Wanted to let you know the mug and cup marketing campaign we did just won the SIPA (Specialized Information Publishers Association) award for Best Print Effort. When the award was presented, the presenter said that they decided not to award any "honorable mentions" for this category, because the winning entry was so definitively the best in its category (and yes, there were many other entries). So, thanks for all your help and feel free to tell your other customers the stuff you guys create is award winning!

Thank you, Columbia Books  for the opportunity, and thank you, PPAI for the recognition!

Sonic Promos has signed on as the exclusive Special Markets Distributor for Operation Hydros. Their sleek-looking Hydros bottle is BPA free, dishwasher safe and American made. The built-in, fast-flow filtering system makes it easy to get great tasting water from the water fountains, kitchen sinks and bathroom taps we walk by daily. And the best part is, every Hydros bottle equals one dollar donated to an environmentally sustainable water infrastructure project. That translates to a year's worth of clean water per bottle for those who need it most. Talk about refreshing!

Non-woven, reusable bags are a popular item these days, as more people make the effort to go green. But what about the other colors?

If your logo or design contains multiple colors, consider an alternative to spot color printing. Color Vista is a printing process that provides close registration and photo-quality reproduction on non-woven bags. The difference is especially visible with gradations- notice how the Color Vista print pops off the item, whereas the spot color appears one-dimensional and falls flat. Which do you prefer?

As the green movement gains popularity, more companies continue to step up to do their part.  For many of our clients at Sonic Promos, this means a heightened interest in environmentally-friendly goods.

One of the best parts about working in our product-related field: we get to see the latest and greatest “green” goods on the market.  Grocery totes made of recycled water bottles, bill folds created from old paper currency, biodegradable Frisbees, bamboo lanyards… our ability to reuse and recycle seems almost limitless these days!

Still, there remains no single international standard for “green,” and many terms get thrown around loosely.  Concerned buyers must watch out for meaningless product claims or confusing rhetoric.

Let’s decode some of the more common buzz words seen today…

Biodegradable (bahy-oh-di-grey-duh-buhl): When disposed, goods made of biodegradable materials will decompose into the earth with no negative environmental effect.

Carbon Offsetting (kahr-buhn awf-set-ting): Companies that practice carbon offsetting strive to cancel out the amount of CO2 they release into the atmosphere by investing in eco-friendly projects.

Energy Efficient (en-er-jee ih-fish-uhnt): A term used in reference to products and services that require a lower amount of energy to operate, or produce, than their counterparts.

Handmade (hand-meyd): Handmade products are created by hand, not by mechanical production. Generally the processes involved in handmade crafts (since they’re not completed on a factory scale) are less polluting to the environment.

Natural (nach-er-uhl): Refers to products or materials that do not have man-made origins.

Non-toxic (non-tok-sik): Made of substances that show no hazardous or poisonous effects on a living organism’s health and survival.

Organic (awr-gan-ik): This term refers to plants or animals that have been raised under specific conditions mandated by the US Department of Agriculture (or in foreign countries, the equivalent government agency).  Generally speaking, no artificial hormones, synthetic additives, radiation, genetically modified organisms, or pesticides were involved.

Post-consumer (pohst-kuhn-soo-mer): This term describes a product or material that has been recycled and reused after its original purpose has completed (ex. Water bottles that were recycled after consumption).  “Pre-consumer” describes products or materials that were reused before they became a consumer good (ex. Water bottles that were wasted or damaged on the factory line).

Recyclable (ree-sahy-kla-buhl): Made of materials that can be broken down post-consumption and reused in another item.

Sustainable (suh-steyn-uh-buhl): To be very general, sustainable activities seek to get as much as possible from what we have now, without adversely affecting the future.

Some “green” products will boast several of these attributes, others maybe only one or two. Your purchase should reflect what is most important to you!